Bare Wood
by xSn0wangel
Summary: Gray decides not to let sleeping dragon slayers lie. Considering Natsu had camped on his floor, he was clearly asking for trouble anyways. Now a Gratsu Two-Shot (:
1. Chapter 1

Gray puffed out his chest and stretched his arms behind him until he felt a satisfying pop. Waking up in his bed was amazing after camping under the stars for an entire week. Their team had only been a few hours walking distance from Magnolia, but the mission that Erza had chosen ended up being more tedious than they'd initially thought and no one had wanted to spend their portion of the reward on a hotel room. However, he'd been pretty tempted to check himself into a ryokan after Natsu burnt his pillow to a crisp.

Hungry enough that he couldn't wait long enough to walk to the guild, Gray headed to his kitchen to whip up some breakfast. His mouth watered merely at the idea of sweet, fluffy eggs. Sleepily walking through the living room, he wondered if there was actually any food in his fridge when suddenly he nearly tripped over something, or rather someone, lying on the floor.

Gray's eyes narrowed as he tried to figure out how or why Natsu was sprawled out in the middle of the room, most importantly why he was even in his apartment. The dragon slayer was flopped on his back with his legs and arms spread out in every direction. He actually looked pretty peaceful for someone sleeping on the cold floor of an ice maker mage's apartment.

Battling with his conscience over whether or not to wake the guy up, Gray finally remembered that Natsu had gotten permission to crash at his place. When they'd arrived back in town at nearly two in the morning, since they'd all voted to travel through the night, Natsu had been so exhausted he'd begged his teammate to let him sleep on his couch since Gray's apartment was closer. Although it was only about a ten minute walk to Natsu's house, they were both too worn out to argue over it and barely made it past Gray's threshold before passing out.

Stepping over Natsu's legs, Gray continued towards his dream of breakfast foods or anything edible considering how hungry he was. When he opened the refrigerator, he was pretty disappointed to see only two yogurt containers and some jam.

Well, he decided that he definitely needed to go grocery shopping later that day. Remembering that he'd just finished a job and actually had a good amount of money for food made his stomach all the more agitated.

It wasn't long before he'd finished off both yogurts and found some bread to spread the jam on. Although it wasn't what he'd been hoping for, it was filling enough for him to survive till lunch time. He plopped on the couch as he repressed the urge to do something productive like unpack his mission gear or take a long awaited shower. Running a hand through his hair, he decided that he could probably put of washing it until later, he'd bathed in a stream nearby their campsite just before they'd headed back to town. Sighing out of boredom, he moved to get back up when he laid eyes on his unsuspecting teammate again.

There were instantly so many evil ideas running through his head! Squatting down next to the slumbering dragon slayer, Gray struggled to figure out what would be the greatest prank. Natsu seriously deserved it after lighting his pillow on fire!

Of course there were the classics, like dumping a bucket of water all over Natsu or playing some loud music right next to his head to scare him awake. Then again both would probably lead to his apartment either becoming incredibly wet or destroyed after the idiot woke up thrashing like a crazy person. Considering his apartment was actually pretty clean at the moment, he immediately ditched those ideas.

Gray also considered scribbling some choice words with a sharpie on Natsu's forehead. But if he actually looked in a mirror before heading to the guild, then no one would even get to see anything.

When Gray's eyes landed on the white scarf that was forever wrapped around Natsu's neck, the absolutely perfect idea came to him.

Smirking, he settled himself over Natsu's waist, pulled the sleeping fire mage's arms together, carefully pulled the scarf off, set it aside, and rested his hands inches away from pink hair. It was times like these that he was so grateful that Natsu could sleep through one of Juvia's rainstorms.

Little puffs of visibly hot air blew through Natsu's lips every once in a while as remained blissfully unaware of what was about to happen.

Holding his teammate's wrists in one hand and his chin with the other, Gray leaned down, slackened his jaw, and sank his teeth into the warm skin of Natsu's neck. He didn't bite hard enough to break the skin, but he had to work quickly.

Olive green eyes sleepily blinked open as Natsu groggily tried to make sense of his surroundings. The odd smell of evergreen permeated his nose so he was certain he hadn't fallen asleep in his own house but initially he wasn't too bothered by it. Not being in his hammock was his second clue although not really more helpful. There was some kind of weird biting and sucking sensation on the side of his neck but that was probably just Happy having another dream about fish. It wasn't the first time his best friend had tried to eat him while sleeping and it wouldn't be the last.

Smiling softly to himself, Natsu tried to look down so he could gently remove the Exceed's mouth that was currently suctioned to his neck. Was he sucking the fish's bones clean or what?

However, instead of blue fur, there was dark hair sticking up from the crook of his neck. Another huge whiff of evergreen told him exactly who was on top of him…for some reason.

"Wha, Gray?" he sleepily mumbled. Swallowing dryly, he tried to push the other guy away from him but found that his wrists were trapped beneath long cold fingers.

The ice maker mage grinned against Natsu's skin at how long it had taken the idiot to wake up and pulled back slightly to check his progress. Halfway down Natsu's neck was a dark red splotch that was already bruising purple right where Gray's teeth had been.

"Whaddya doin'?" hollared Natsu as he tried to hike his legs up to kick Gray off of him, however, anticipating the attack, Gray quickly moved in between Natsu's knees and pinned the dragon slayer down with his hips.

Ignoring his teammate's question, he started to nibble on the skin right beneath the first mark. There was something about Natsu's breathy voice, that was spurring him on.

"Bastard! Get offa me!"

Gray's teeth weren't sharp, but Natsu could feel every ridge and dull edge as they nipped at the sensitive skin of his neck. Then there was the cool sensation of the ice mage's wet tongue sliding over the new bites and supple lips dragging across his throat as he searched for another place to mark.

If he hadn't been listening, Gray would've missed the soft gasp that Natsu made when he accidently licked the dragon slayer's Adam's apple. He could feel his teammate's rapid pulse beneath his lips and the heavy rise and fall of the chest pressed against his own.

Although he'd been muttering insults and tried to free his arms whenever he thought Gray might have let up on his wrists, Natsu really wasn't fighting back very hard.

The most remarkable thing was that the man beneath him hadn't set either of them on fire, whether he was too sleepy to think of it or what, Gray wasn't going to complain.

It was supposed to be for revenge, just a silly prank, but…pranks were for the enjoyment of the prankster after all!

And Gray was, for some reason, really enjoying toying with the hot skin of the fire mage's throat. He nipped down to the base of Natsu's neck and tongued the outline of the jagged scar he found there.

"Nnnnngh," Natsu groaned until he managed to choke it off.

Okay, so that particular spot was pretty sensitive.

Gray blinked at the…um…sound and curiously swiped his tongue back over the rough patch of skin.

Natsu exhaled sharply as his muscles contracted in response to Gray's action but he refused to make another…noise. He wondered what the hell was going on and why it was even happening! Was Gray joking with him? Because he sure as hell couldn't figure out what was funny about this.

"Gray, st-aaaaaah…."

Gray smirked at Natsu's failure to bite-back another moan as he sucked on the scar. Clearly, things were getting quite interesting. He hadn't been expecting this kind of reaction.

Well…

Honestly he didn't know why he was _still_ leaving hickies on Natsu's neck anyways. He'd already gotten one good mark before the dragon slayer had even woken up which was already satisfactory. Imagining the looks on everyone's faces when the idiot walked into the Fairy Tail guild hall with _that_ on display, was all the motivation he needed to actually do it. Yes, he'd have to confiscate the scarf in order for the plan to go down, but that would have been the easy part of the plan and he'd already accomplished the hard part!

Then, what was he doing?

Licking up the entire expanse of Natsu's neck, Gray pressed open mouthed kisses along the heated skin of his teammate's jaw. Natsu's head tilted slightly as he felt the warmth of Gray's mouth tickle over his jugular. He shivered at the sensation of breath across his ear.

Then Gray paused for a moment.

Before he could think about it, he knew he was going to say something _stupid_. He felt it bubble up from his chest, light and airy, before it easily traveled up through his throat till it arrived in his mouth. There, he held it back behind clenched teeth and tightened lips but it was pressing and needy. He wanted to swallow it back, let it congeal somewhere else, a place where he could slowly accept it for what it was. Yet, it _needed_ to be said because it was the _real_ explanation for all this and all he had to do was just…say it. The timing was right…it wouldn't fall on deaf ears…

Natsu shifted uncomfortably being all the more aware of their position when Gray was still. He considered asking what was going on again when—

Gray's stomach growled loud enough to echo through the room. He instantly jolted back and released Natsu's wrists to wrap his arms around his own waist. Apparently, his body had treated his measly breakfast like a mere appetizer.

Leaning back on his heels, he abruptly stood and stepped over the dragon slayer to pick up his discarded shirt and pants. He didn't remember throwing them off but he rarely did anyways. Stepping into his pants, he looked back over his shoulder.

Natsu was lying on the ground, exactly where he'd left him. Arms stretched over his head like they were still trapped, knees apart as though he was pinned to the ground. His face completely blank as he stared up at nothing since his brain hadn't caught up yet.

"You coming? I'm starving over here," Gray mumbled as if none of it had just happened.

"Uh…yeah."

Shaking his head, Gray waited for Natsu to walk past him out of the apartment before stepping outside. However, he was shocked when he saw his teammate standing out in the sun, without his scarf. He bit his tongue as he quickly locked his door and followed after Natsu who hadn't waited for him.

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"Hey Luce! Sleep well?" greeted Natsu casually as he sat at the bar next to the blonde haired celestial mage.

"Like a rock," she agreed as she looked over at her best friend. She opened her mouth to add more but, it only fell open further as she took in bruises on his neck.

"Natsu, y-you—"

"Yeah I slept pretty good for passing out on Frosty's floor, didn't even make it to the couch." He laughed heartily and swung an arm around Lucy's shoulders as he shriveled back around to face the counter.

"Hey Mira, what's for breakfast today?"

Happy to hear another chipper voice in the guild, Mira turned away from polishing glasses to inform Natsu that it was nearly one o'clock so he'd missed breakfast, to see—

"Natsu! Are those—" She tried again. "Is that…"

"Lucy?" Natsu guessed as he took in her wide eyes and gapping mouth. "I mean, I know she's kinda big Mira, but you don't gotta be rude about it."

That earned him a rather hard smack on the head from an insulted fuming celestial mage.

"Dammit Natsu! She's asking about the hickies all over your neck!"

Every person in the guild hall turned their eyes towards the trio.

"Wow I can see them from here!" shouted a half drunk Cana from all the way on the other side of the room.

"Our Natsu has finally become a man!" exclaimed Elfman while flashing the dragon slayer two thumbs up.

There was an all out commotion as people cheered, blushed, shook their heads, or just looked completely confused.

"What are you guys…" began Natsu until the realization dawned on him and he blushed which caused a whole other wave of excitement. Tugging his shirt off, he wrapped it around his neck and huddled into it. He wished he could disappear into the counter or something. Being _marked_ like that and having everyone see, was mortifying!

Erza appeared beside him. "If you didn't want anyone to see, then why didn't you wear your scarf?"

"I…I didn't realize I wasn't wearing it today."

She sent him a look of sympathy. "I can't say that I approve, but if you ask Wendy nicely then she can probably get rid of them."

"Wendy!" he yelled as he jumped out of his chair.

"However she's currently on a mission," Erza continued as if she wasn't interrupted, "but she should be back tonight."

Natsu sunk back dejectedly into his chair.

"Maybe I should just go home," he grumbled. At least Happy would be there to cheer him up.

"I didn't even know you had a girlfriend Natsu," came Lucy's voice.

"I don't." He started repeatedly beating his head against the wood.

"A-a boyfriend?" Erza questioned with barely disguised astonishment.

"I don't have one of those either!"

"Then—"

"Can you please just drop it," he said to cut Lucy off. His head froze mid smack against the counter before falling against it one last time. He sighed as his hands fell from the shirt wrapped around his neck. It fluttered away from his skin like an unwrapped scarf but it wasn't like anyone could see anything when he was facedown into the bar.

"It didn't mean anything to him so it doesn't matter anyways," he grumbled in soft voice. He really didn't want just anyone listening to his conversation.

 _"_ _Him!"_ thought Lucy as she looked at Natsu's back thoughtfully. She'd never seen him show the slightest bit of interest in anyone, which made him the last person she'd expect this kind of behavior from.

"But did it mean something to you?" asked Erza as she placed a hand on his shoulder. Normally Natsu wasn't the type to get so flustered over something, considering he always exclaimed that he never regretted anything he did. However, seeing him agitated over someone…was worrisome to say the least.

Pushing himself into an upright position, Natsu examined the counter as he tried to make sense of his jumbled thoughts. He could still smell the fresh red cedar wood as though it was yesterday that the guild hall had been rebuilt. However, the evergreen boards had been stained dark and brushed over with a potent finish. It looked different now, perhaps better, was protected from damage from the chaos of the Fairy Tail's constant celebrations. But it was still that same smell underneath everything.

He could've swore he saw some condensation become frost upon the wood and felt the icy stare of a certain mage only a few seats down from the three of them.

Natsu felt the heat rush to his face but he didn't falter in his words.

"It meant more than I'd like to admit."

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	2. Chapter 2

To say the least, it was a frustrating next couple of days. Natsu could barely step one foot into the guild hall without being constantly harassed about the fading hickies hidden beneath his scarf. In fact, he'd really only dropped by two or three times before he stopped coming around at all. He figured that once people forgot about it and moved on to the next piece of gossip then everything would go back to normal, but he sincerely wished it would happen sooner rather than later.

However, he hated avoiding his family all the time. Though Happy was always great company, one Exceed could never be as boisterous as everyone in Fairy Tail. Still, the two of them enjoyed a quiet reprieve at home as they took a break from missions. With all the extra free time, Natsu managed to get some much needed housework done, including finally finding and fixing the part of his roof that leaked whenever it rained.

He wasn't exactly an expert at stuff like repairing leaking faucets or gluing furniture back together, but even he could patch a leaky roof. After Happy had lifted him onto the top of the house, he had some trouble locating the troublesome shingle curling slightly towards its neighbor. However, with a little asphalt and a new piece of wood the spot was as good as new in no time.

When he was all finished, Natsu mustered up a dull glare for the patched hole beneath his feet. How was it that something that had been bothering him for weeks could be fixed in a matter of minutes, when whatever was going on with Gray and himself was so complicated?

More importantly, what the hell was that ice-block even trying to accomplish?

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Gray couldn't believe Erza had dragged the entire team on another mission. Especially when she seemed to have some kind of inside knowledge about the weirdness going on between Natsu and himself! He knew the flame brain had admitted that the person he was messing around with was a guy, but he still should've been the least likely candidate. Everyone knew about their rivalry, until lately considering it was difficult to keep up appearances when Natsu refused to show his face around the guild hall. But his rent was coming up, so he couldn't really refuse either way.

Besides, she'd picked something pretty easy for the amount of jewels promised. An older man living in Akane was having trouble with his gardening tools constantly disappearing. He'd recently moved to the area with his wife to enjoy the rest of their retirement in a beachfront cottage. Therefore, he thought that perhaps it was just some rambunctious neighborhood children trying to rile him up. It was terribly frustrating for him to always have to buy new metal planters and walking to the market wasn't something he wanted to have to do all the time so he decided to send the request around.

Erza spent a few more minutes questioning the man about who had access to his backyard, if anything had gone missing, and whatnot, while Gray, Natsu, and Lucy began investigating his home for clues.

Struck by the beauty of the view from the back of the house, Lucy couldn't help but stare out at the swirling blue waves of water as they sloshed across the shining sand. When she grew older, she wondered, would she choose such a lovely place to live with the person she loved? Shaking her head slightly, pigtails lightly bouncing against her cheeks, she smiled as she turned back to two of her favorite guys.

A Fairy Tail mage wouldn't be thinking about leaving her family, she supposed, however, upon seeing the disgruntled faces of her teammates, her thoughts shifted else wear. Erza had promised her that by the end of this mission, those two would be back to normal and she knew from experience that her friends would go to great lengths to keep their promises.

At the same time, Natsu was poking around through the sand while Happy was more focused on the plentiful seashells he could bring back to Carla. Gray on the other hand, was examining the back patio of the house. Aside from a few flat stones pushed deep into the sandy ground, there really wasn't much to it. Looking around the small ceramic pots holding the gardening tools, Gray wondered why the heck the guy didn't just store his hardware inside his house or even near the front of his house, where he actually had his gardens planted.

"Hey Natsu, what do you think of this one? Do you think it's pretty enough for Carla?" asked Happy hopefully as he held the small silvery shell up for his best friend to see.

Gray's eyes drifted over to the two of them standing near the water's edge. He couldn't make out Natsu's response over the sound of the water, but he did see the halfhearted smile creasing the dragon slayer's face and didn't like the feeling it evoked in his stomach.

Apparently Natsu felt his gaze because olive green eyes carefully turned towards Gray. He could see the yearning there, but he didn't understand what it was for.

What did Natsu want from him?

He'd been wondering about it for days, ever since that stupid morning when he'd done that stupid thing. The feeling in his stomach was morphing and swelling like the waves before him. It would have been so easy to let it rise up, cascade over the divide between them, sweep away the hurt, the insecurity, and dive headfirst into the water.

Yet the waves fell back again as Natsu looked back to the ground, and Gray felt he'd missed another opportunity. Still, if he was honest with himself, he didn't know what he wanted either.

It was a little while longer until they abandoned their request for the night and pledged to come back again the next day. Their long journey and arrival late in the day hadn't been ideal for the mission so they were set to call it an early night back at the hotel. Being such an extravagant resort, Erza had decided that the five of them would share a two bed room when she'd made the reservation. However, she hadn't informed anyone else of said decision until they'd walked into the room.

As crazy as it seemed, there weren't any objections.

Lucy said she was fine with it as long as she was bedding with Erza which was expected by everyone. As for Natsu and Gray, they just glanced at each other for a moment before plainly nodding.

Although she knew she should be happy that they weren't arguing over something silly, like who would steal the covers or fighting each other for the first chance to shower, Erza quietly sighed as she dug through one of her numerous travel bags. They'd only just arrived so she had plenty of time to fix things.

"Erza, would you like to bathe first?" asked Lucy from the other side of the room. Even though she refused to let anyone read a word of her novel, she'd still brought it to work on in her spare time.

"Sure and feel free to order some room service. I can't imagine anyone wants to walk to a restaurant this late."

Lucy nodded and went back to her manuscript beneath the small hotel lamp.

Stretched out on one of the comfy beds, Gray stared out the spacious hotel window at the sun hanging low in the sky. As the burning sphere moved closer to the shimmering water, the ocean reflected its reddish glow and the expansive view blurred into a radiant fire.

Natsu was dozing beside him though he tried very hard to stay awake long enough for dinner. He wasn't even curled under the covers, just sprawled out on his back on the soft bed. The light from outside illuminated his face in the dim light of the hotel room.

It was at that moment that Gray pledged to pull Natsu aside the next day. He hoped that it wouldn't be another broken promise to himself, though he wasn't sure how keen he was on following through with the spontaneous decision.

Still, the lure of the fiery sea was calling him.

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When his eyes opened, Gray instantly knew something was wrong. Trying to move his arms, he was surprised to found them bound above his head and struggled to get free as he waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness of the room.

"If you rip my scarf, you're dead," someone whispered into his ear. Wondering how in the world he'd missed his idiot teammate's warm, half naked self towering over him, Gray continued to jerk around.

"Na—"

A hand smashed over his mouth and Natsu's index finger pressed against his lips as his eyes cut over towards the girls' bed to remind Gray that they weren't alone. Waking them up was certainly something that neither of them wanted to deal with when they were in such a position and considering Natsu's recent known involvement with a guy Gray decided to keep his lips sealed.

Before he could begin to figure out the best course of action while restricted, Gray felt Natsu's body slide down to his stomach. He was rather surprised to see that he'd actually fallen asleep fully clothed for once, but he quickly forgot about it when Natsu's fingers inched his shirt halfway up his abdomen.

He watched with wide eyes as his teammate slowly leaned down and dipped his tongue into Gray's navel.

Tensing from the somewhat ticklish sensation, Gray pinched his lips together as the hot, wet tongue traveled up the middle of his abs. His mind was reeling as the sensation made him shiver slightly although he wasn't the slightest bit cold.

Natsu smirked to himself as he traced the contours of the ice mage's muscles with his mouth while moving towards his chest. The ice princess deserved this and more after that stunt he'd pulled before! Chancing a look up, he was thrilled to see Gray's flustered face watching his every move. If only they were alone so that he could truly embarrass him!

Gray quietly hissed through his teeth as Natsu drug his lips over his collarbone. Realizing the gold mine he had just stumbled upon and eager for sufficient revenge, Natsu's sharp teeth bit down on the raised skin.

Though his mouth fell open, Gray tightly strained his neck to keep from gasping in pain. Despite knowing that it was probably going to happen eventually sure didn't make it hurt any less! However, when Natsu's mouth began sucking gently over the bite, the feeling became something more…..enjoyable.

He became remotely aware that this was the first time someone had willingly gotten this close to him, aside from Juvia's antics of course and while he wanted to define it as something meaningful, he struggled to categorize it. Yet, he was positive that he wanted more.

Then Natsu was hovering right over his face, warm breath spilling across chilly lips. Each of them caught up in each other's eyes, wondering who would close the gap, as if all of it could be solved with a kiss.

But, Natsu's eyes hardened as he pulled away and untangled his scarf from the ice mage's wrists. He refused to look back as he left the room, the click of the door being the only sign of his departure.

Erza sat up straight in bed at the sound and gazed around the room surveying her surroundings carefully. There seemed to be no immediate danger so she relaxed a bit as she looked over to check on Natsu and Gray. Of course, one of them was missing and the other, staring out into the darkness.

"Gray."

His expression was fearful as he turned to her though he tried very hard to hide it and he was actually…fully clothed? Things were not adding up in her sleepy thoughts.

"Where's Natsu?"

She watched as Gray's face fell and tipped downwards. Running a hand through his messy hair, he sighed quietly though it seemed louder in the calm room.

"I don't know. Out for a walk or something." He sounded sincere enough for her to believe him, yet she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Perhaps they'd quarreled, but over what, she didn't know.

"You should look for him. Something must be on his mind if he's up this late."

Gray bobbed his head to regretfully agree.

"I'll find him, don't worry about it," he said as stood and abruptly headed out after Natsu.

"That's not what I'm worried about…" she muttered into the dark room, though her words only fell on deaf ears.

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Even though he was supposed to be looking for Natsu, Gray let his feet carry him across the island. The warm night air was surprising pretty calming as he trudged his way to the beach he'd been admiring earlier. Thinking that the area around him was becoming relatively familiar, he was surprised to find his teammate, sitting behind the old man's house.

One of Natsu's arms was crossed over his drawn up knees as his eyes focused on the dark waters a few feet away from him. His free hand clutched a long piece of driftwood that he was absentmindedly running through the sand at his side.

"I thought that even a flame brain like you knew how to walk." As soon as he said it he wanted to punch himself. What happened to the promise he'd made? Yes it for supposed to be for the following day but was that really an excuse?

Natsu ignored him completely, of course he'd already smelled Gray coming so it wasn't exactly surprising that he'd popped up. However it was disappointing that he'd said something so stupid, especially after what had just gone down. He was expecting an apology and he wasn't going to be happy without one.

"Let's go back so we can get some sleep. We've got to be back here early in the morning, since that's when the guy said his items always go missing."

"So that's it then," Natsu said calmly without tearing his gaze from the sea, "you're going to keep pretending nothing happened?"

A sudden gust of warm air blew up around them, as Gray considered his words.

"It was supposed to be a joke."

Natsu laughed though there wasn't any humor in it. "That's your idea of a joke? Then what part of it was _supposed_ to be funny ?"

Stabbing the driftwood down into the sand with enough force to nearly snap it in half, Natsu grew even angrier at Gray's silence.

"Was it the part where you made the whole guild think I was some kind of man-whore or maybe the part where you fucked around with my feelings?!" he was shouting now, but he didn't care who heard him. These were the words he'd been desperate to say this entire time so Gray was going to hear them!

"Why would you do something like that if it didn't mean anything to you dammit?! I—"

Though Natsu was only just getting started, Gray's lips cut off all his words. Frozen against him in shock, the dragon slayer's lips were warm and parted slightly from being interrupted. He'd grabbed Natsu's shoulders to hold him in place, but apparently he didn't really need to.

The simplicity of the chaste kiss was mind blowing to him. How something so small as a touch of the lips could convey so much emotion was beyond Gray and he was struck by the realization that had he done this before, when he'd held Natsu against his floor several days ago, then everything wouldn't have gotten so screwed up!

Then, a flaming fist punched his cheek so hard he fell over into the sand.

"Don't kiss me when I'm yelling at you Bastard!"

Rubbing the hurt from his face, Gray stared down at the forgotten piece of driftwood. It was a small piece of what may have been a mighty tree that somehow ended up in the even more powerful ocean. Stripped and worn down by the harsh waters, its smooth and pale surface was beautiful in its own right.

Glancing up at the fuming dragon, he realized he'd missed a great deal of what Natsu was going on about. But at the same time, though he felt exposed from the kiss and weary from anxiety, he noticed an important distinction in his teammate's words.

"…and you don't even wear clothes half the time you fucking stripper! You're a goddamn tease!" Natsu panted as he finished his long ramble.

"Are you finished?"

Laying back in the sand, Natsu nodded. Venting had certainly done him a lot of good as if the fire burning his insides had finally been expelled.

"I'm sorry," Gray apologized, "I didn't know you felt like that, that I…felt like that." Digging his hands into the sand, he struggled to keep going. It was so easy for Natsu to spill his guts all over the place, still he had to try.

"I—" he crawled over beside his teammate and leaned down to kiss Natsu again. However, it only lasted a second before he pulled back blocking his face with his hands as if expecting another punch.

"You weren't yelling so…." he mumbled uncomfortably. His cheeks felt warm in a way that he guessed wasn't from Natsu's fist.

Natsu's eyes were soft as he gazed up at Gray. His poor ice princess couldn't even confess his feelings. It was absolutely adorable! With a wide smile, he grabbed the back of the ice mage's head and pulled him back down for another kiss. He'd gotten his apology and his revenge….so there was no reason why he shouldn't take advantage of this situation, right?

It was light and airy as their mouths slowly meshed together. Relaxing and gentle like the waves flowing around them.

Until Natsu realized that the ocean water really was soaking his pants.

"Gray, the water," he murmured in between kisses until pushing the other guy off of him.

Dazed at first, Gray didn't understand what Natsu was getting at until the cool water licked at his feet.

"Oh shit!" he said as he stood and offered a hand to pull up the dragon slayer as well. "Must be high tide."

"High what?" wondered Natsu as he followed Gray further away from the coast.

"High tide. Once or twice a day depending on where you are, the water rises higher up on the beach. It has to do with the moon or something."

"Look over there!"

The waves had flooded all the way up to the old man's back patio. They watched as the liquid cascaded across the smooth stones and swirled around the jars of gardening tools.

"Ha, well what do you know," said Gray as he made his way over to them while keeping to the dry sand. Using a little magic, he froze the containers to the rocks they were sitting on. "That should hold them until the water recedes."

"You'd think that someone with a house right on the beach would know about this," exclaimed Natsu as he gestured to the waves.

"I guess he did just move here and most people aren't awake at this hour."

Heading back over to Natsu, Gray grabbed the dragon slayer's warm hand and they stared out at the sea one more time before heading back to the hotel.

They still had some things to figure out and words that Gray needed to say, but that could wait until tomorrow. It was a quick patch, yet that didn't make it inefficient.

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"Uh Gray," began Lucy as she rubbed at her sleepy eyes. It wasn't unexpected for her to wake up to a half naked teammate, however, she couldn't get over the purplish red bruise marring his collarbone.

"What's that….on your shoulder?"

There was a moment of silence as the whole team turned to stare at Gray.

"Dammit Natsu!"

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End file.
